Serena Williams has won back-to-back Grand Slam titles for the first time since she completed a ‘Serena Slam’ and after major setbacks the past two years, she is talking about smashing some records.
Serena outlasted world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 on Sunday to win her fourth US Open crown, becoming its second-oldest Open-era winner at age 30, and a 15th Grand Slam title, seven shy of Steffi Graf’s all-time record.
“Even though I’m 30, I feel so young and I’ve never felt as fit and more excited and more hungry,” said Serena. “Even with this win like I’m sitting here so excited still to play the next Grand Slam and see what I can do. I love that feeling. I feel like it’s overdue.”
Serena took her third major title in as many months after Wimbledon in July and Olympic gold last month on the same All England Club grass courts.
“It’s so cool. I’m so excited. To cap off the gold medal and then to come from the gold medal to win the US Open is unforgettable.”
Serena won her first back-to-back Slam crowns since she captured four in a row from the 2002 French Open through the 2003 Australian Open. And she said if she had not missed 10 Slams with injury, she might have won five more by now.
“Yeah, I think so, but there’s nothing I can do about that.”
Serena is greatest ever: Azarenka
Meanwhile, Azarenka hailed Serena as the greatest player of all time and vowed to learn from suffering a chastening 10th defeat in 11 meetings with the American veteran.
“For me, she’s the greatest player of all time,” said 23-year-old Azarenka, who was just 10 when Serena won her first US Open as a teenager in 1999. “She has taken the game to the next level. But I have to be positive because I feel like these kind of matches, every time I play Serena, it really pushes me to be better, to improve, to move forward. I have to be thankful to her for that.
“It’s the people like Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and those kind of girls, who always push me to be better.”
Sunday’s match represented Azarenka’s fourth loss to Serena in 2012 alone.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2012.
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